Category: Sightseeing

With new arts centers springing up on the north side of the IJ waterway and temporary displays in the great art museums of Musemplein, 2015 brings plenty of exhibitions to brighten January in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam may not be on a par with Paris or Milan when it comes to shopping, but dig deep and you will find around 30 flower, food and flea markets to trawl through each week. Here are some of the best Amsterdam markets.

Quite apart from owning the largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s artwork in the world, Amsterdam now has a new attraction – a stunning display of his work at the exhibition Van Gogh the Ultimate Collection, at the Beurs van Berlage.

As one of the most famous museums in the world, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is best known for its fine collection of Old Master Dutch paintings, with great works by Frans Hals, Steen and Vermeer as well as Rembrandt. But now the museum has added another string to its bow; here’s what’s new from the Rijksmuseum.

Amsterdam’s Jewish Quarter is east of the old city in the Plantage. Before WWII, this was a bustling area crammed with businesses and shops with Waterlooplein market at its heart. World War II saw Amsterdam’s Jewish community decimated but today the sights of Jewish Amsterdam can be seen in the Jewish Cultural Quarter as well as in the world-renowned Anne Frank Huis on Prinsengracht.

Despite its reputation as a tolerant, open-minded city where dope smoking is tolerated and prostitution is legal, Amsterdam is in fact a very child-friendly city. Here are just a few of the museums for children in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam’s concentric ring of canals marks the city’s hey day in the 17th century, when overcrowded conditions and an influx of people into the city meant that expansion became imperative. Several of these majestic canal-side mansions have been converted into museums. Here are my choices of Amsterdam’s best five canal house museums.

So close to Amsterdam that today it is virtually a suburb, a visit to its little sister Haarlem is nevertheless like stepping into another, gentler world. This tranquil, genteel town is perfectly sized for exploring on foot. Here’s what to see on a walking tour of Haarlem.

The seedy reputation of Amsterdam’s Red Light District – also called De Wallen – is upheld in some of its museums. Although most of the museums in the Red Light District have sex as their focus, there are several others with different themes. There are even a couple you could take your grandmother to.